The Writer's Journey, Christopher Vogler's book, has become a cornerstone of modern screenwriting theory. One of the most popular books on writing of the last fifty years, it has sold over 170 000 copies and has been translated into eight languages. His courses and book have influenced many many writers, producers, directors and stars, including: John Lee Hancock (THE ALAMO, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, A PERFECT WORLD), Ron Howard (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, APOLLO 13, PARENTHOOD), Mel Gibson(BRAVEHEART, APOCALYPTO, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST), Roland Emmerich (INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA), Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (SHREK, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) and Darren Aronofsky (PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM).

In addition, Christopher Vogler has himself worked on countless feature film projects as a consultant, writer and producer, including FIGHT CLUB, THE LION KING, SPIDERMAN, THE THIN RED LINE, COURAGE UNDER FIRE, SUPERMAN, ANNA AND THE KING, THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN and HERCULES. He has also been a development executive at 20th Century Fox and worked as a story analyst for United Artists, Orion Pictures, The Ladd Company, Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros and Disney.

We have been trying for some time now to bring Chris over again. We have finally succeeded...but he has told us that he will not be able to return in either 2007 or 2008. If you miss him this time, can you afford to put your writing career on hold until 2009?

Chris' techniques are essential to scriptwriters of all levels, from beginner to professional, as can be seen from this short article he has written for us.

Read a snippet below:

Snippet:

A scene is a business deal. It may not involve money but it will always involve some change in the contract between characters or in the balance of power.

It's a transaction, in which two or more people enter with one kind of deal between them, and negotiate or battle until a new deal has been cut, at which point the scene should end. It could be the reversal of a power structure. The underdog seizes power by blackmail.

Or it could be the forging of a new alliance or enmity. Two people who hated each other make a new deal to work together in a threatening situation.

A boy asks a girl out and she accepts or rejects his offer.

Two gangsters make an alliance to rub out a rival.

A mob forces a sheriff to turn a man over for lynching.

The meat of the scene is the negotiation to arrive at the new deal, and when the deal is cut, the scene is over, period. If there's no new deal, it's not a scene, or at least it's not a scene that's pulling its weight in the script. It's a candidate either for cutting or for rewriting to include some significant exchange of power.

What they say about Christopher Vogler:"It's like having the smartest person in the story meeting come home with you and whisper what to do in your ear as you write a screenplay. Insight for insight, step for step, Chris Vogler takes us through the process of connecting theme to story and making a script come alive."- Lynda Obst, Producer, Sleepless in Seattle, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days; Author, Hello, He Lied

"Vogler is about the stories we write, and perhaps more importantly, the stories we live. It is the most influential work I have yet encountered on the art, nature, and the very purpose of storytelling."- Bruce Joel Rubin, Screenwriter, Stuart Little 2, Deep Impact, Ghost, Jacob's Ladder

"The Writer's Journey should be on anyone's bookshelf who cares about the art of storytelling at the movies. Not just some theoretical tome filled with development cliches of the day, this book offers sound and practical advice on how to construct a story that works"- David Friendly, Producer, Daylight, Courage Under Fire, Out To See, My Girl

"A classic of its kind full of insight and inspiration that every writer, both amateur and professional, must read"- Richard D. Zanuck, The Zanuck Company, Driving Miss Daisy, Cocoon, The Verdict, Sting

"One of the most valuable tools in understanding and appreciating the structure of a plot that's available today. The Writer's Journey is an essential tool to any writer at any stage of their career"- Debbie Macomber, Best-selling author, 42 million books in print, Author of Montana

"A seven-page memo by Christopher Vogler is now the stuff of Hollywood legend.The idea o f a "mythic structure"has been quickly accepted by Hollywood, and Vogler's book now graces the bookshelves of many studio heads"- The Times, 1994

The Writer's Journeytakes place on Saturday and Sunday 9th/10th June from 9.30-6pm each day. The registration cost is £250 + VAT = £293.75

Book online here

The course is taking place at the Large Lecture Theatre, Cavendish Campus, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish St, London, W1W 6UW. The closest tube stations are Goodge St and Warren St.

Topics covered include: - New maps of story structure for a changing audience- New concepts for troubleshooting story, character and structure- How to create strong identification in the beginning- How to survive the minefields of the middle- How to build to a dramatically satisfying ending- Developing literary works into coherent movies- Creating broad appeal- Weaving theme, psychological depth and a sense of meaning- Common structural elements- Myths, fairy tales, dreams and movies- Archetypes in 'the hero's journey'- The mythic structure that all stories follow- Typological character study- The stages of the journey through which the hero passes

Raindance takes screenwriting seriously. Christopher Vogler is an undisputed master of the craft of screenwriting and storytelling. Learn with a master. Call me on 0207 287 3833 to book your place.

Best,

Will Pearce Raindance Festivals Limited

DISCOUNTS- Ask about our special repeater fee (-50%) if you have taken this course before and would like a refresher- Ask about our Group Booking discount for 3+ students- Members of Raindance get a 15% discount.- Students, OAP's and UB40's 10% discount- our out-of-town discount is 10%

Since 1992 Raindance has been offering advice and support for independent fimmakers. We started the Raindance Film Festival in 1993, and the British Independent Film Awards in 1998. We also have a training programme that has had remarkable success. And all this without public funding. Presently there are nine of us working out of our office in Soho, London. Although we are London-based we are on the look-out for anyone who might like to work with us in another city or country.

We are always looking for new ideas, or your stories about your movie.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Eastenders' Michelle Ryan scores the lead role in the re-make of the Bionic Woman. The show is much praised and secures a prime-time run on NBC. In the show Michelle is a super-fit tennis pro, who gets a $50 million bionic body after a sky- diving accident, which gives her super-strength.

Executives from other networks and at least one top casting agent have been heard gossiping this week about Michelle's "massive weight problem". Because, of course, a sportswoman should look just like Nicole Richie. Women just can't win in LA.

-----------------------------------------------------Guy Ritchie is back to what he knows best - making another gangster movie. Working title: Rock n Roller. -----------------------------------------------------

>> Hello sailor << US investors meet Winehouse

Universal music's parent company Vivendi wrote to investors about their new artists. This is how they introduced Amy Winehouse to US shareholders and financial institutions:

"Everything about Amy Winehouse seems larger than life. The petite singer has a voice like Billie Holiday and old-style sailor tattoos."

-----------------------------------------------------The Sun and The Daily Mirror websites are blockedfrom viewing in Sudan. (So their government isnot all bad, then...)-----------------------------------------------------

>> Big Questions << What people want to know this week

Before his career really took off this US TV actor was a Grade A gakhead and boozer. You could almost say "cheers" was his favourite word. An ex-girlfriend of his confided to us about one night back in the 80s. She got to put on a strap-on, take the comedy star up the arse and then have the joy of doing coke off his bald spot. Wonder what a psychiatrist would say about that?

Which Ministry of Sound Records executive was seen getting off with a ladyboy in Bangkok. He claims he didn't know...

Congratulations to Limahl, who is about to get hitched to his partner of 14 years, Steve. During that time Limahl has had surgery on his upper and lower eyelids, a full chemical peel, fat injected from his body into his face, and his eyes done for the second time. No wonder Steve doesn't feel the need for a new man, he's got one. Boom-boom.

FYI: Limahl is a member of English Heritage and the National Trust. He says he never leaves home without his guide to stately homes, just in case he can squeeze in a quick visit.

FYI 2: Limahl is writing for and producing (withIan Curnow) a band called Switch 22. We like 1985 - its very 5ive:http://www.myspace.com/switch22home

-----------------------------------------------------Loaded's front cover has Pam Anderson and Borat "Together at last!" Or in fact a 2004 shot of Pam and a press shot of Borat inexpertly spliced together.-----------------------------------------------------

>> Teddy gets his cards? << Soccer mystery may be solved

Another football season ends. All the gossip, scandal and sleaze will no doubt be back again in a couple of months. There was one question we've been wondering about... where was Teddy Sheringham during West Ham's do-or-die fight to avoid relegation?

A West Ham insider claims he knows. The story goes that on Alan Curbishley's first away game as manager Sheringham sat on the team bus playing cards for money with some of the younger members of the team. He cleaned most of them out, one for at least 20 grand. Curbishley is said to have told Teddy to cancel all the bets, or he'd never play for the Hammers again. Looking at the young, lippy, Bentley-owning, non-entities... Sheringham refused.

-----------------------------------------------------Last year America made arms deals with $21 billion.A new world record. In second place was UK, with $4.8bn, including to 19/20 countries whose human rights records our foreign office say is "of concern".-----------------------------------------------------

>> Naked ambition << Gok gets body of his dreams

Drama queen writes: "I went to Drama School with Gok from How to Look Good Naked. He was hilarious. I liked him a lot. But he was always crash dieting.

"His favoured methods for losing weight were The Tenko Diet (three cups of boiled rice per day) and The Speedy Granny Diet (apples and copious amounts of speed)."

Everyone's getting over-excited about how well British TV is doing in the States since The Office got remade and the IT Crowd got a small mid-season pick-up. Yet, maybe the real story is, how badly UK shows have done this summer re-made as US pilots. Life On Mars, Footballers' Wives, The Thick Of It, I'm With Stupid and The Vicar of Dibley all failed to get picked up by a network. One UK drama did buck the trend... Wild At Heart, ITV's unfashionable series about a suburban vet and family, who move to Africa.

FYI: US shows aren't faring much better with UK TVpeople currently watching new show screenings in LA.Only two shows get the thumbs up so far: K Ville,a police drama in post-Katrina New Orleans and Dirty Sexy Money.

-----------------------------------------------------Paul Wolfowitz hasn't just lost his job at World Bank.It seems as if his girlfriend (whose promotion and pay-rise got Wolfie the boot) has dumped him. -----------------------------------------------------

>> The man who kills pilots << And no planes or twin towers involved

Jonathan Cake is a good and successful British actor in LA... with one big problem. Whichever pilot he appears in crashes and burns.

His shows from the last couple of years included Inconceivable (ER-like drama about a fertility clinic which lasted two episodes), Six Degrees (cancelled and replaced by re-runs of Wife Swap), American Embassy (lasted three episodes) and Empire (a big budget disappointment, but did also star Trudie Styler).

One of this summer's much-hyped new shows was CBS's Mastersons of Manhattan. But even with Friends' director James Burrows helming and the wonderful Molly Shannon starring, the Cake Curse struck again. The pilot was not picked up by the network. Maybe next year, Jonathan.

-----------------------------------------------------Bez was treated in Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester,for a stab wound from a domestic incident. (He's aregular patient, e.g. celebrating the Happy Monday'sreunion tour by setting his own head on fire.)-----------------------------------------------------

>> It's a fair cop << Boys in blue live up to name

Welsh PC Richard Bowen is on trial accused of masturbating into his handkerchief in front of a female suspect during a 240 mile journey in a squad car.. twice. Bowen's defence? He "knocked one out" before staring work. And put his hankie back in his pocket because he was "running late".

While across the Atlantic, Tennessee state trooper Randy Moss has been suspended for letting a porn star off drug charges in return for a blow-job in some bushes, after he pulled her over for speeding. Barbie Cummings wrote it up on her blog, along with some photos of the act he let her take.

-----------------------------------------------------Nick Carter has recently been appointed Special Ambassador for the Year of the Dolphin by the UN.-----------------------------------------------------

>> Things that make you go hmmm << Stoning, toilet humour, big pussy

Rambo IV trailer - we haven't laughed so much in weeks. (And yes, its is Darla he goes to save)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE8Zukeb6bQ

Chuck Palahnuik has a new book out - Rant. For more info, and to play Rant game:http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/rant/index.html?site=popbitch

Fancy dress = child abuse:http://tinyurl.com/25bav7

Easy Bank Holiday reading - Topped Of The Pops. X Factory-style contestants and judges come to very grisly ends. We love what happens to their Simon Cowell.http://www.adammacqueen.com

Last week we told you about Orange's awesome Spot The Bull contest to win Glastonbury tickets. To recap: there's a bull in a field. Predict where in the field he'll be standing and win. You can't beat a bit of bully:http://snipurl.com/1lv4e

Is this the fattest cat you've seen?http://www.popbitch.com/pictures

Smiley Face Acid House t-Shirts and dresses for boys and girls by Religion Clothing. Get sorted this summer in Retro Madchester gear:http://www.discoo.co.uk/smiley-face-s43.html

*****************************************************Steven Gerrard somehow found the time this week to get his lawyers to write us a rather pompous letter. They make a fair point though. We're toldhe isn't buying the house we linked him to last week. Sorry about that Steven: the new neighbours you won't be having are gutted as you're a local hero.(P.S. you might want to point out to your lawyers thatyour name is spelled "Gerrard" not "Gerard".)*****************************************************

>> Chart Predictions << New entries/High climbers Sun 27th May

++ Number OneMAROON 5 Makes Me Wonder

++ Top TenRHIANNA Umbrella

++ Top Twenty PIGEON DETECTIVES I'm Not SorryKAISER CHIEFS Everything Is Average Nowadays

Old Jokes Home:An Irishman was driving along the motorway when he wasovertaken by a lorry transporting turf to a garden centre.'That's what I'll do when I'm rich', he says to his wife. 'Have me lawn taken away to be cut'.

Still Bored? Couple having sex on roof in Soho:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PIjSb2tTdM

*******************************************************THE SHOES DON'T LIE. You could always play it safe. But safe doesn't ask 'where did you get the shoes?' Safe doesn't turn Tennis-Classic-Green with envy. Safe shows up twice in the same town. Choose fromdozens of shoes; hundreds of colours; millions of possible combinations. Kiss safe goodbye.http://snipurl.com/Nike_ID_PB/*******************************************************

* Get into summer with Sonny Jim* What happens to Dr Who* Charts: Maroon 5 is number one-----------------------------------------------------

>> Gear-shift << Lewis shows ladies his pole position

Sports star of the year is undoubtedly Lewis Hamilton. Talent spotted by McLaren supremo Ron Dennis as a child, Hamilton has been kept in a protective bubble to help him develop his prodigious talents. Well, with success comes a desire for the trappings of success. Lewis was seen celebrating with the other F1 drivers, for the first time, after the Barcelona Grand Prix. He left the Amber Lounge party, with two expensive escorts on his arm. And we don't mean bodyguards. Roll on Monaco...

-----------------------------------------------------An avatar in Second Life has a larger carbon footprint than the average Brazilian.-----------------------------------------------------

>> Big Questions << What people want to know this week

Which Joseph-wannabe on Any Dream Will Do is an escort with the same Suited and Booted agency where John Browne met his young nemesis, Jeff Chevalier?

The wife of which media tycoon is said to be having an affair with one of her husband's key employees?

Which pop star's future husband is known in North London circles for extreme drug use and for lifting their friends/ lovers wallets to pay for it?

-----------------------------------------------------Easther Bennett, from Eternal, is now a beauty therapist, in County Hall Club & Spa.-----------------------------------------------------

>> Confessions to a pop star << Drunk passenger fails to join mile high club

AC writes: "I was sitting next to Annie Lennox on a flight from London to Aberdeen in about 1987, I was a bit pissed and fell asleep. When I woke up I had an erection, with my helmet poking up just past my belt on my tummy. Annie Lennox was sniggering. She told me if there had been more showing she would have autographed it. I chanced my luck with her and she changed her seat."

-----------------------------------------------------Sian Lloyd says she likes new boyfriend, Jonathan Ashman, because he's not an attention-seeker. So much so that he's been texting friends to tellthem when he is going to be in the newspapers. -----------------------------------------------------

>> Baby love << Scooch get aother 15 minutes

Scooch did better than expected at Eurovision, (19 points better) and it's nice to see them with a top five hit, after their career was cut short in 2000. Singer Natalie had a baby with the band's svengali/producer Mike Stock (of Aitken, Waterman fame), which put a damper on their frenetic dance routines.

medium_smart writes: "I used to work in an office on Goodge Street. When I clambered onto the roof to smoke I looked straight into the recruitment offices of the Scientologist Centre. I'd sit and watch morons walk in off the street to get "audited" and towards the end of their treatment, I'd lean into the window and say something caustic. Which I thought was funny and they probably didn't. I kept up this juvenile behaviour for about a week.

"Then one Sunday, I was at home (miles out of London) and someone knocked on my window. I opened it. There were two men in suits, saying, "we thought you'd like to see how it feels'. They then proceeded to heckle and generally freak out anyone who came anywhere near the house for the next five hours, as well as reading stuff from their weird book at full volume in the street and telling my neighbours that I was a 'godless and aggressive unbeliever'."

-----------------------------------------------------The music that plays Hillary Clinton onto the stage for her Presidential campaign speeches is Jesus Jones Right Here, Right Now.-----------------------------------------------------

>> Dr What << Season-end spoilers. Possibly.

We're told this is how Dr Who ends this year...

* John Simm as Mr Saxon, the PM, gets taken over by The Master. * The Master did this by hiding from the time war in the Tardis and waiting for the right body to come along (like in Hellraiser 3) * The Master becomes a Timelord again by splicing The Doctor's DNA and temporarily taking over Dr Who's body. * cliff-hangers at end are whether The Doctor rids himself of The Master, and whether the big explosion you see is Galifrey or Earth.

-----------------------------------------------------There has never been a British winner of the Wimbledon men's tournament under a Labour government.-----------------------------------------------------

>> New US TV << Heading to our shores in 2008?

* ABC are excited about a new sitcom called Cavemen. Its based on an advert by Geico communications, which doesn't sound like a great start, but features 30-something men in Atlanta.http://www.geico.com/video/airport_h.htm

* Dirty Sexy Money is being hyped as the new Dynasty. Glam soap opera starring Peter Krause as a lawyer representing a rich and mysterious family, headed by Donald Sutherland.

* Me & Lee. Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors helps an injured man (Jamie Kennedy) get a new bionic body. It's directed by Paul Dinello, from Strangers with Candy.

-----------------------------------------------------Most inappropriate casting of the year - LA stonerclub kid (and star of preppy Orange County drama)Mischa Barton... in the new St Trinian's movie.-----------------------------------------------------

>> Corporate Bullshit << Cornish wreckers target field

Orange are preparing a novel Glastonbury competition. They have a bull fitted with GPS in a field in Cornwall, which is divided into squares. Guess which square the bull is in at mid-day each day for two weeks before the festival and you could win tickets. Except, we hear from Cornish friends, that the location of the bull has got out, and there are plans afoot to "interfere" with the beast...

-----------------------------------------------------Victor Lewis Smith is currently wooing Mohamed Al Fayed in the hope of making a documentary about his "fight against The Establishment".-----------------------------------------------------

>> Can't stop playing << Sonny Jim makes the sound of sunshine

Tune of the summer, if you haven't yet heard it, is Sonny Jim's Can't Stop Moving. Two major labels are sniffing around this week to pick it up and turn the Jackson 5-esque happy disco sing-a-long into this summer's crossover dance hit. And with one of the track's co-producers off to work with Cee-Lo next week, watch out for a special Gnarls Barklay mix before too long...

Jose Mourinho's dog, Gullit, is now the most famous Yorkshire Terrier in the world. Here are the runners-up through history:

* Huddersfield Ben. The father of the modern breed of Yorkshire Terrier. Ben (1865 - 1871), was a top show dog and ratting champion. His life was tragically cut short, aged six, when run over by a carriage. But Ben was so famous that his body was preserved and kept under glass on public display.http://www.ayup.co.uk/yorkshire/index.htm

* Mr Famous. Owned by Audrey Hepburn, appeared in Funny Face, and run over on Wiltshire Boulevard shooting another movie, The Children's Hour.

* Sulamith and Sara Belladonna. Tour with Stevie Nicks who insists on hot-dogs on her rider for the pups.

* Doogie. Endured the embarrassment of appearing with owner Whitney Houston on her reality TV show.

* Milo, Dolce, Luna and Venus. Have Naomi Campbell as owner.

Four unknown Yorkies. Bought by Elton for Posh's birthday a couple of years ago, these dogs have yet to be seen again in public.

To buy one without getting into trouble with the police:http://www.puppiesforsalebynet.com/

-----------------------------------------------------RIP Jerry Falwell, no doubt reading us from hisnew, rather hotter home below. Falwell's climate change-denier professor at his Liberty University is called... Dr Ice.-----------------------------------------------------

Congratulations to Serbia's Rose West look-a-like who won Eurovision. The country's been going close for years, so listen to their 2004 runner-up, by Zeljo Joksimovic. Probably the most beautiful piece of music in ESC history:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByJ3eeBsktw

Premiership footballers were asked to donate a day's wages to a Royal College of Nursing hardship fund. The whole squads of Watford and Sheffield United, Fulham, Tottenham, Blackburn, Reading and West Ham did. Chelsea - not one player volunteered:http://www.maydayfornurses.co.uk/?module=players

Get a blood puddle pillowhttp://www.fromkeetra.com/posts.php?post=012

Want to buy Rednex?http://www.popbandforsale.com/

David Gest porn-a-like:http://www.justusboys.com/reviews/ec_image_1_4106.jpg

Steven Gerrard has a nice new house:http://www.skiptonproperty.co.uk/property_details.asp?id=4970

*******************************************************Miss Titmuss has never been afraid to kiss-and-tell, but are you? We can't promise any tabloid cash but you can see how you stack up against your friends at:http://www.dishyourdirt.com*******************************************************